with Rev Dr Chris Walker
What Kind of Society Do We Want?
The Federal Government’s budget and the strong responses to it are not simply a matter of concern over finances. They also raise the question, what kind of society do we want?
The Federal budget was preceded by much talk of overspending, increasing deficits and the need to cut back in order to move towards a situation in which the finances are under strict control. The overriding criterion was economic. Other considerations were secondary. Even businesses now often speak of the “triple bottom line” which takes into account not only the economic but also the social and environmental outcomes of the business.
From a Christian perspective it seems to me we have our priorities the wrong way round. Instead of economic considerations dominating the discussion about our national life, our primary concern should be the well-being of people in our society and so manage our finances to maximise that. While economic responsibility is important, economics is a means to a larger end.
Canada has developed the Canadian Index of Well-being. It started from the recognition that “There is a growing sense that traditional measures of economic performance such as GDP, employment and income data do not capture the full story of what is happening in society. This has provoked a desire to monitor the state of the social and economic well-being of society.” In Australia there is a group working to develop an Australian National Development Index. It will develop new measures of equitable and sustainable well-being including environmental, social, economic, cultural and democratic dimensions. Hence it will look at overall well-being in fields such as equity, sustainability, democracy, human rights, environment, health, education, community vitality, and spirituality. This broad based approach is to be commended.
The kind of society I want is one that is moving towards what Jesus proclaimed, namely the Kingdom or Reign of God characterised by such qualities as justice, compassion, peace and reconciliation. The prophets of ancient Israel called for communities that flourish not only in terms of economic prosperity but practice distributive justice, show concern especially for the least in society, seek peace not war, fairness not exploitation, and have people reconciled to one another and the land. If they were truly to be the people of God this is the way they were called to live out their covenant with God. While they repeatedly turned away from God’s will, the prophets spoke out to bring them back to this expectation. Jesus’ life and ministry called people to enter the reign of God now and live by its values while continuing to hope for its fullness to come in the future. Hence he taught his disciples to pray, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven.” At the beginning of his public ministry Jesus went to his home town of Nazareth and to the synagogue. He chose a passage from the prophet Isaiah and read: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.” He then announced that “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke4:16-21). Jesus’ life, teaching and ministry were characterised by concern for people, especially those shunned by others, by challenging the people in authority to act with justice and compassion. He wanted people to enter God’s realm, experience fullness of life and serve God’s good purposes.
If we take the Reign of God and its values and Jesus as its model then we can evaluate the adequacy of the Federal Budget in the light of them. Jesus does have parables about economic responsibility and initiative, such as the parable of the Talents. He also warns about making economic wealth the priority rather than God in the parable of the Rich Fool. While it is appropriate to be concerned about economic well-being now and into the future, this is meant to be for the benefit of all people. The justice God desires is distributive justice in which all share in the benefits of society. Hence a levy on high income individuals is desirable. Money towards medical research is always required. Unfortunately increased medical expenses which will affect the poor and indigenous people especially are not fair. Cutting back in major ways in health and education spending will mean that the wealthier people can afford to pay for their health needs while others will have to make do with less adequate provision. Those from wealthier families will be able to pay for higher education while those from lower income families are likely not to be able to do so. Cutting back on funding to the ABC and SBS is also unfortunate as they provide major news and other services to thoughtful Australians and those from many cultures. Yet there is money to pay for a very expensive fleet of military planes.
The extreme measures in the budget represent moving towards a different kind of Australia, one that regards economics as supreme and people primarily as economic units. It fails to see people’s needs as parents, carers, patients, students or even commuters. It favours the rich and is likely to lead to a growing underclass rather than trying to overcome such a development. It is even hard to see why such an extreme budget was regarded as necessary given that Australia has currently low inflation, low interest rates, low debt relative to other comparable nations, and a high credit rating.
While I come from a Christian perspective wanting Australia to move towards the Reign of God and its values, I expect that even secular people want a society that is more compassionate and more just rather than one that helps the rich for the most part to get richer and the poorer people to bear more than their share of the cost of the proposed cuts. Australians I hope are responding not just out of concern for how they will be affected personally but out of a desire for a better Australia for all.
Chris Walker
(National Consultant Christian Unity, Doctrine & Worship)